


Celebrate Good Times

by Megane



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Skating, Celebrations, Characters in Tag Have Screen Time, Final Fantasy VII's 24th Anniversary, Implied Relationships, Minor Canonical Character(s), Not Quite a Song Fic But There Are Songs, Other Characters Are Mentioned, Short & Sweet, Wholesome and Completely Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:22:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29121138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: What's better than good music and a refreshing turn around the skating rink? Why, great company to share it with, of course.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	Celebrate Good Times

**Author's Note:**

> I promise I'm not back. Today's just a good day. (One of these songs was originally supposed to be for a similarly premised FFXV fic. Chances are I'll just go ahead and do a repeat. So enjoy that when it comes.) 
> 
> Happy 24th to FF7.

Oohs and awws filled the entrance as a group of nine walked into the skating rink. Claude and Leshea chatted excitedly as they pushed forward, talking about the last time they went skating and wondering about all the moves they could do.

“It’s been _so_ long!” the usually reserved Leshea said.

“Oh, honey. It’s been _ages_! I think I was still playing straight back then,” Claude replied with a cackle. He tugged Leshea up to the rental window. “Hi! Can we have nine pairs? Sizes? Oh—” He whipped his head over to the others, who were nearby but their distance still prompted him to say, “Could you all hurry up? I wanna _dance_!”

“As if you don’t get enough at home,” Warrick cut in, squeezing between Claude and Leshea. They hip checked Claude, who gasped. Utterly scandalised. “Here are all the sizes. I need two nines, a twelve, a…”

Andrea watched as everyone huddled close, buzzing with excitement as they reminisced. Two of them split off to [dance to the music overhead](https://open.spotify.com/track/6uQKuonTU8VKBz5SHZuQXD), coordinating their moves for their inevitable duet. Dez walked calmly over to Andrea and crossed his arms.

“Already cutting up,” he said with a warm smile.

“Can’t take them anywhere, can we?”

Dez shrugged deep and slow. He tilted his head back to watch as the skates were distributed. “Sad the others didn’t wanna come.”

“Wouldn’t be enough room for all of us _and_ other patrons.”

“Think we could rent the place out? Just for a night?”

Andrea hummed. “Might have to sweet talk the owner, but we’ll see what we can do.”

“Andi! Dez! Are you skating or modeling?” Claude called out to them. He and Leshea held up the skates for them.

Andrea and Dez shared a look before laughing and joining the rest of the group. Everyone moved as one towards the seating area closest to the rink. They talked among themselves, making sure their time was fine and that everyone had a plan for the evening. Benny and Castle, the only two currently among them who couldn’t skate well, stuck with Dez and Amias. Claude and Leshea were out on the rink before anyone else. Claude’s excited shout of “Yeees!” trailed behind them as they glided.

Andrea chuckled before standing up to take his turn. He looked back to his Bees and pointed to the two novices. “Be nice to them, alright? They already look scared to death.”

“Yes, Andiii,” came the unison reply. Avery stuck out her tongue playfully before smiling wide enough to flash her teeth.

Andrea shook his head before stepping a foot down onto the rink. He looked around and was surprised to see Tifa and co. nearby. He watched as Barret slid by, his attention focused on someone else. A handsome smile on his face as he pointed to, Andrea realised as he followed the gesture, Biggs. Already looking in that direction, he noticed two other figures in the modest food court. Cid was leaning back in his rickety plastic chair with an overloaded hot dog in his hand. Vincent was leaning against the black fence, staring down at the blond. A part of worn skates were hanging from his shoulder by their laces. Refocusing, Andrea saw as Aerith and Tifa glided their way closer. Between them, they held Marlene by her hands, swinging her as she giggled. Andrea smiled and easily took his place beside them.

“Well, well. Look who it is.”

Tifa and Aerith whipped their attention to him. Tifa gasped, but before doing anything else, she helped guide Marlene back to her skate covered feet.

“Andi! Hi!” She reached over to hook one arm around his shoulder. He returned the one armed hug with his own. “Are you here alone?”

“You already know the answer to that,” he teased. He twisted back to point to those still off to the side. “I’ve got some over there, and Claude and Shea cut loose—” He looked around, unable to pinpoint the two of his brightest. He made a vague motion with his hand. “— _somewhere._ ”

Tifa laughed. “Of course.”

“Hey, Andi!” Aerith cut in, leaning slightly forward.

“Hi, Andi!” Marlene added, chipper as always.

“Hello, Aerith, and _hello,_ Marlene~ Is Denzel not with you?”

“He and Wedge are on an extended skate break. They went to the arcade an hour ago and haven’t returned yet,” Tifa reported.

“So long as he has his phone on, we’ll find him,” Marlene replied dutifully.

By Gaia, wasn’t she just the cutest thing? “I hear you, Miss Marlene.”

“Cloud’s he—”

A loud whopping interrupted them as a young girl tore past on rollerblades. “Outta my way, slowpokes!” Yuffie yelled as she took a turn like a sports player. She squatted down, sticking out one leg to control her speed. She had a wicked grin on her face.

“Be careful, Yuffie!” Marlene shouted after.

Aerith watched with a laugh, and Tifa merely sighed it off. Aerith continued, completely unfazed, “Cloud’s here too.” She looked over once again and smiled knowingly at Andrea. “He’s in the bathroom right now though.”

Andrea huffed and skated to put some distance between them. “I didn’t ask about him.”

“Yeah, but you were wondering anyway!” Aerith called after him.

Andrea grinned over his shoulder at them before kicking off to go catch up with Barret. He reached out to place a hand on the man’s elbow as they took a turn. He rocked his left foot onto its back wheels, easing his curve. Barret whipped his head down to the touch before seeing Andrea. He let out a hearty laugh.

“If it ain’t Andrea himself! How you been?”

“Good, but even better with you here.”

“You cut that out, you ol’ smooth talker.” He reached down to pat Andrea on his lower back. He lessened his stride so they could keep pace with each other. “You with the family today?”

“Only some. Wouldn’t want to swarm an innocent business.”

“Not today anyhow.” Barret grinned down at him.

Andrea chuckled. “How’s Marlene liking the rink?”

“Oh! She loves it. I can hear her now: ‘Daddy, daddy. Can we go skatin’ again?’ I tell you. She’ll keep me here alllll _week_ if I let her.”

Andrea nudged him with an elbow. “And you will, you big softie.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Are you down one? I think I counted everyone who was here.”

“Red doesn’t really do well with noisy spaces. He’s at the bar with Jessie waiting for us to get back. Wedge almost stayed behind too, but Biggs and Denzel got him to come with.” Barret and Andrea both perked up when [the song changed](https://open.spotify.com/track/0wfuwgtWKZYRYAONxXPjPO).

“This takes me back.”

“Ooooh.” Barret shook his head as the nostalgia overtook him. “No they _didn’t_.”

“Oh, I think they did.”

“Mm, mm, mn! Lemme go grab Marlene. She loves this song.”

“Have fun.”

He watched Barret leave to go scoop up his daughter. Andrea was left with his own company, more than happy to bob and skate laps on his own. He swung his hands to clap to the beat. He wasn’t the only one who coordinated his moves with the music, however. He saw several patrons enthusiastically dancing on their skates. One couple took daring bobs left and right, moving with such synchronicity that it was fascinating to watch. Aerith and Tifa laughed excitedly when they found out how to hip bump without knocking each other off balance. In the center of the rink, safely away from the more experienced dancers were Amias, Benny, Dez, and Castle. Though the two novices couldn’t dance and skate at the same time, they held onto their more coordinated halves and danced in place.

His own attention was stolen, however, when Claude and Leshea flanked him on either side. They were singing the words with wide smiles on their faces. Their energy was infectious, and soon, Andrea found himself dancing with them. He skated ahead, moving his feet with clever crossovers before spinning around.

Claude affectionately rolled his eyes. “Of _course_ you know how to that.”

“Holding out on us?” Leshea asked, his voice sweeter than a dream.

Andrea chuckled and held out his hands for both of them. When they took hold, he lifted their hands and skated under their arms. He ended up between them with his arms crossed over his chest and their hands still in his own.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied before letting them go.

Marlene and Barret skated by. Andrea could hear the small girl say, “Just like me, Daddy!”

“Ooh, look at you, angel! Can’t keep up with that.”

Andrea laughed before nodding to Claude and Leshea, letting them pull ahead to entertain themselves. Passing around, Andrea caught a tuft of blond over where the arcade was. It was hard to tell what he was doing at this angle and distance, but sure enough, Cloud Strife was here. Biggs skated past him, spun around, and did a two finger salute. Andrea smiled at him before blowing a kiss. Biggs caught it and slapped it against his heart. He dramatically arched away before spinning around and skating away. Andrea chuckled.

The song came to its conclusion. A few of the other skaters clapped. Barret kept his hand on Marlene’s back so that she could do the same. He gently took her hand afterward. The song [changed once more](https://open.spotify.com/track/3MySeyJCAKyPkTRvlvq7gm), the beat thudding through the establishment. Andrea was familiar the song, having heard it at his studio during late night clean up.

The beat livened everyone up, however. The novices felt safer skating this time around with the group. Tifa and Aerith caught up with Andrea to skate with him. The three of them danced to the beat, Aerith having her own moves for the song. Tifa and Andrea were quick to learn so that, on the chorus, they could move together.

 _I saw you dancin’ with somebody, lookin’ like me and you_. They wove left and right to the beat before pointing at themselves and then out towards the air.

 _She know how to party, but nothin’ like me and you_. They all broke into their own little dances before pointing back and forth. Instead of clapping, they dusted their hands together on one side with two sharp movements.

 _Got the perfect body, but she ain’t got the moves._ They gestured a silhouette before posing. Aerith made sure to place the back of her hand against her forehead and lean her head back. Tifa lifted up one leg, placing her hands on her knees as she popped out her hip. Andrea ran his hands seductively down his own form, shimmying left and right as he did.

Dez and Castle were hand in hand as they zoomed past, Castle yelling in nervous excitement. She gripped Dez’s arm for dear life, and he kept a hand secured on her waist. _‘You got it,’_ was what Andrea read on his lips as they mixed into crowd. Andrea, Tifa, and Aerith moved away from the shoulder of the rink to skate closer to the interior. As the music sank away to a part without words, a voice called out,

“Andrea!”

Hearing his name called, all three of them looked over towards Barret. He was skating in place, his feet moving fluidly as he rolled his shoulders to the beat. He spun in a tight circle before ending up in the opposite direction, his footwork never interrupted.

“Whatchu know about that!” Barret called out as the trio curved around.

“Not a thing, handsome! Not a damn thing!”

Barret laughed happily before kicking away to circle around Marlene, who laughed in delight before being picked up. Andrea looked away just time to see a particular blond glide into his line of sight. Cloud had his hands in his pockets, looking almost bored as he skated backwards. He had one foot slightly raised as the other kept him grounded.

“Go get ‘im, Andi!” Aerith cheered.

“Don’t mind if I do.”

With that, he skated his way towards Cloud, who lazily turned in an arch. It was almost as if he was _refusing_ to dance in spite of how pointedly timed his movements were. When he turned to face forward, Andrea sped faster, making sure to catch him just as the chorus started again. He caught Cloud’s eye immediately and reached up to stroke under his chin.

“Hello, beautiful.”

“Having fun?”

“I could ask you the same thing.” Andrea smiled and bumped his hip against Cloud’s. “Dance with me?”

“Not interested in doing any showstoppers tonight.”

“Just a little bit.” Andrea was already on beat at this point. He held out his hand. “Nothing extravagant.”

Cloud looked at it with a sigh before taking it and guiding Andrea out of the direct flow of bodies. They spun together in two turns before extending out at arm’s length. Cloud pulled Andrea closer, ducking under his arm and spinning the dancer around. Andrea stood with his back against Cloud’s front, his arm crossed over his stomach. He looked over his shoulder to laugh brightly at Cloud, who smiled _just_ the smallest bit.

“Nothing fancy, right?”

“S’what I said.”

Andrea shook his head, and they kicked off together. Cloud let go of Andrea’s hand to properly stand at his side. Andrea hooked an arm around the blond, his other hand going up in the air to snap to the beat. They took a curve together before mixing in with all the other skaters currently enjoying themselves.

**Author's Note:**

> Tracklist:
> 
> "This Is How We Do It" - Montell Jordan, Wino  
> "Tootsee Roll (Dance Version" - 69 Boyz  
> "Real Groover - Studio 2054 Remix" - Kylie Minogue, Dua Lipa
> 
> (Had to throw it back and grab some goodies coming up for this one.)


End file.
